Is Fluorescein safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what NIH LactMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's authority on medicines and breastfeeding, reports about Fluorescein. This is a summary of that source — not our own verdict.
Effects on the breastfed infant
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Levels in milk
Maternal Levels. A woman received 5 mL of 10% fluorescein (500 mg) injection shortly after delivering a set of twins. Milk samples were obtained periodically by manual expression for 76 hours after the dose. The highest concentration of 372 mcg/L was obtained in the first sample 6 hours after the dose. By 76 hours after the dose, the milk fluorescein concentration was 170 mcg/L. The half-life of fluorescein in milk was 62 hours.[ 1 ] A mother nursing a 3-month-old infant had 2% fluorescein drops applied into each eye. Blood and milk samples were taken 3 times at 30-minute intervals after the dose. Milk levels at these times were 20, 22 and 15 mcg/L, respectively.[ 2 ] Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that Fluorescein is known to be harmful, and not that it is known to be safe. Your prescriber or pharmacist can weigh your baby's age and whether a better-studied alternative would do the same job. Worth asking before stopping a medicine you need.
Source: NIH LactMed (National Library of Medicine).
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.